The Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote cartoons are on the most part very enjoyable. They did take a nose-dive in quality in the mid-late-60s in both humour and production values (in all fairness that's true of a good deal of the 60s Looney Tunes cartoons), but the best of them are brilliant. Hot-Rod and Reel is not one of the best of them, but it's still very good.
Hot-Rod and Reel has very little to criticise it for. The recycled rail-track gag is very predictable for anybody who has seen Beep Beep (it's amusing, but it was funnier previously) and it does end a little too abruptly, very funny but with a little too much of a rushed that's it feel when rounded off. However, in terms of criticisms, that is it. Some may criticise it for being formulaic and that some of the material is reminiscent of material seen before in previous cartoons of theirs, but the pacing is so fluid and tight, the dynamic between Roadrunner and Wile is entertaining and Wile as ever is so strong a character and the material is so well-timed, well-animated and so much fun that it doesn't matter, it certainly doesn't feel anywhere near as repetitive as their later cartoons.
Animation-wise, Hot-Reed and Reel is suitably colourful and polished. It's vibrant, crisply drawn with both Roadrunner and Wile well animated in design and movement and while the backgrounds are simple they have enough detail to prevent them from looking too sparse. Milt Franklyn's music score doesn't disappoint either, blessedly much closer to the lush, richly orchestrated and energetically characterful orchestration of Carl Stalling (if not quite as clever or sympathetic, though those traits are still evident) to the canned, repetitive and tonally jarring music of Bill Lava in the later outings.
The gags are all very funny and well-timed, all of them make you laugh out loud (the bombs gag was hilarious) and there is nothing whatsoever tired about them even when it's not exactly original material. The story is always interesting and beautifully paced, and there as ever is great chemistry between Roadrunner and Wile. Roadrunner is not generally that interesting a character, but he is cute and funny here and it was refreshing to see him have a more cunning side to usual. Wile however is the funnier and more interestingly written of the two (that's always been the case, even in the best of their outings, I'd go as far to say that he's one of the best of the Looney Tunes canon), he's cunning, hilarious and easy to root for and his facial expressions- whether cunning, shocked or frustrated etc.- are priceless and even funnier than the gags in some cases.
Overall, a very good Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote cartoon. 8/10 Bethany Cox
